The present application relates generally to an improved data processing apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for assigning and managing movement paths to unmanned vehicles.
The use of unmanned aircraft, also referred to as “drones,” has primarily been limited to military applications until recently. Such drones tend to be remotely guided aircraft that are flown by a remotely located human pilot operating controls at a command center. The drone receives commands from the pilot via wireless communications and supplies various sensor information back to the pilot, e.g., camera images, radar information, audio information, and the like. While the drone itself is unmanned, the flying of the drone requires a human pilot to be able to provide commands to the drone. One example of such a drone aircraft is the MQ-9 Reaper available from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
As the cost of such drone aircraft decreases additional commercial uses have been developed for such aircraft. Recently, drones have been more popular for home and business use, both in terms of entertainment and business utility. For example, the large on-line electronic commerce retailer, Amazon™, has recently been approved by the United States government to test the use of drones to assist with deliveries of their goods to customers. Moreover, drones have been developed for entertainment use by providing aerial photograph capabilities. One example drone aircraft developed for commercial and recreational use for purposes of aerial photography is the DJI Phantom, available from DJI. Such drones also are of the remote control variety requiring a ground pilot to utilize a remote control unit to send wireless commands to the drone and receive camera and other sensor data from the drone.